Kenku <small>(pronounced keng-KOO</small><small> or KENK-oo They are loosely based on tengu, spiritual beings in Japanese mythology, and are most recognizable for their lack of a voice; instead of speaking themselves, they use their gift of mimicry to communicate. Jeremy Crawford, lead rules designer of the Dungeons & Dragons game, says "[they] can cleverly piece together voices and sounds they've heard to communicate".
Publication history
The kenku originally appeared as uncommon monsters in the first edition of the Fiend Folio (1981) for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In this sourcebook, they wielded quarterstaffs or katanas, had inherent magical abilities, and could change their appearance once a month. They had slight magic resistance and were typically treated as thieves and tricksters, with a neutral or chaotic alignment. and were reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). This sourcebook described them as bipedal humanoid birds that used their powers to "annoy and inconvenience" humans, with average intelligence, a neutral alignment, and a secretive, thieving nature. They were also incapable of speech and communicated with birdlike squawks, and were described as being skilled at gestures and pantomime to convey their thoughts. As in their previous incarnations, they possessed a degree of magic resistance and were renowned for their crafty, malicious cunning; they were occasionally known to pass themselves off as gods to steal the offerings of worshippers. The kenku was further developed in Dragon #329 (March 2005). An adventure involving kenku appeared in Dungeon #120.
The kenku's next appearance was in the game's fourth edition in Monster Manual 2 (2009). It subsequently received an article in Dragon #411, "Winning Races: Kenku", which fleshed them out as a playable race.
The kenku most recently appears in the fifth edition in the Monster Manual, the Dungeon Master's Guide (2014), and as a playable race in Volo's Guide to Monsters. In these sourcebooks, kenku are rendered incapable of making sounds or developing ideas of their own, cursing them to steal everything from words to goods from others. They are presented as wingless, avian humanoids, in which it is explained: "Haunted by an ancient crime that robbed them of their wings, the kenku wander the world as vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of human society." According to this version of kenku lore, the kenku once served a powerful, unnamed god, but were cursed by their former master for coveting his riches. As punishment, their wings, creativity and voices were taken away, making them a cursed race. Kenku can now only speak through precise mimicry of voices and sounds in the environment; they can never produce sounds of their own nor extrapolate other sounds to speak independently. They were also stripped of their creativity, and thus can never create original works and ideas; they are described as condemned to a life of "hopeless plagiarism". Many kenku are described as longing for the ability to fly, and perform executions by throwing their condemned from towers to mock the lost skill, often while weighed down by wooden "wings". Quorlinn appears as a typical kenku wearing a black mask and fairly nondescript clothing. Quorlinn is depicted as a likable, roguish trickster. He has a tinge of malice about him at times, but he has also aided races other than his own. He spends much of his time whining about the responsibilities imposed upon him by a race he did not choose to have created in his image.
Campaign settings
Greyhawk
Kenku appeared in "The Forsaken Arch," an adventure in the Greyhawk setting featured in Dungeon #120.
In the Flanaess, kenku have been encountered from the Duchy of Berghof in the Hold of the Sea Princes, to the Gnarley Forest, to the Cairn Hills.
Forgotten Realms
Kenku appear in the Forgotten Realms setting as a race of flightless avian humanoids, described as selfish and secretive in nature. They are commonly found in human cities in southern Faerun, working as assassins, thieves, scouts and spies. One year before, the kenku had been rated the seventh-most powerful race in Dungeons and Dragons by the same website.
Colin McLaughlin called them one of his "favorite creatures in D&D", and found that their backstory "gives the kenku a type of humanity and sadness you rarely get to see from a splash monster page."